Larger heads 20-35 mm diam. Outer phyllaries elongate, often nearly as long as inner; glutinous ridge narrow, weakly developed. 2n = 30, 34.

Flowering spring-summer (Apr-Aug). Grassy areas, sagebrush steppe, California woodlands, open coniferous or conifer-hardwood forests, roadsides; 200-2000 m; Calif., Nev., Oreg.

Variety cymosum ranges from the Siskiyou Range south through the California North Coast Range to Mount Diablo in the northern South Coast Range, and east into the southern Cascades and the northwestern Great Basin.